Below is the transcript of the article written about Perth in same edition of the Australasian Sketcher
From the Handbook on Western Australia issued by Mr W H Knight, we are told that Perth, the capital and seat of government, is situated in 32 degree south, on the banks of the river Swan, at a distance of about 12 miles from the port of Fremantle. Though a comparatively insignificant city, few places can rival it in the beauty of tis site. The approach to Perth, either by the river or by the road from Fremantle, is extremely picturesque but from the top of Mount Eliza, a hill on the western side of the town, a more comprehensive view is obtained. The board expanse of the Swan, called at this part Perth Water, extending for a mile in width nearly to the causeway, a little beyond which it disappears from view – the city rising from the north bank, its principal buildings, conspicuous amongst which are the town hall, Government House, Catholic and Wesleyan churches, bishops’ residence etc, being boldly relieved by the beautiful foliage which is interspersed throughout the town, and which, gradually increasing, becomes a forest as the view recedes-with the horizon bounded by the Darling Range, extending for nearly 100 miles north and south, form together with the climate’s congenial sunshine, which is almost incessant, one of the prettiest sights in the southern hemisphere. Owing to the great size in which the allotments were originally laid out, the city is scattered over a large surface, and the buildings are somewhat irregularly placed. But it is otherwise well arranged, and as population increases and buildings spring up abutting on the streets with more regularity, its appearance will be greatly improved. The streets are wide and regular, generally crossing each other at right angles, but it cannot be said that Perth excels in its footpaths; neither is it particularly well lighted, only possessing three or four corporation lamps. Cape lilac, or neme trees, have been planted along the sides of some of the principal streets, after the manner of the boulevards of Paris, and they add greatly to the beauty of the place-indeed, the view looking up St Georges terrace, when these tress are in full leaf and blossom, is one of the most lively that can be conceived. The bright green leaves glittering in a brilliant sunlight, the beautiful and fragrant lilac flowers thickly interspersed through the foliage, and the exquisite combination of light and shade, form a scene which attracts the attention of every stranger. Perth is connected by telegraph with Fremantle, King Georges Sound, Geraldton, and the eastern districts, and the Eucla line, which is to connect it with Adelaide and consequently with, and will it is estimated, be completed I two years. Latterly, the question of railways has been much discussed, and a motion is now on foot for constructing a line to connect Fremantle, Perth and Guildford, and in all probability it will ere long be successfully carried out. About five years ago transportation to Western Australia ceased, after a continuance of the system for 18 years. There are still, and for some time to come will continue to be, class distinctions in the social circles of the colony. There is a definite line of demarcation between the emancipated convict and the free emigrant, which strongly affects the intercourse of private life.
In commercial transactions these distinctions are not so marked. Many who have belonged to the bond class have, by industrious habits and upright conduct, regained the utmost confidence of the public, and in business matters the free and the freed stand on their present individual and intrinsic merits; but few, if any, of the bond class have regained that position in private life which they lost by their conviction. However moral their lives, and however unimpeachable their conduct in every social relation, they have hitherto been unable to remove the barrier which separates them that class from which they have fallen.
